Related Articles

Book Preview

Pretty Happy - Kate Hudson

INTRODUCTION

I HOPE THIS ISN’T disappointing, but this book is not meant to be some kind of weird tell-all. Rather, it’s a tell-true, focused on how I figured out how to connect to myself, understand what my body needs, and put that information together so I no longer have to worry about or overthink how I eat or how I work out and for how long. I finally feel confident that I have something to share. I want to give others a way to feel as positive and motivated as I try to be, because seeing that I can help makes me feel my best. This book is also about how I learned to slow down and fine-tune how I eat and exercise and practice meditation in a way that grounds me when life gets bumpy.

Why do I feel more confident about what I’ve learned? Lately, I’ve been realizing that just as my public roles have changed and evolved, so too have my inner roles—especially my relationship with myself. People may see me as buoyant and always smiling, but the truth is, I’m not always like that. No one is. Like everyone else, I have my good days, my not-so-good days, and my totally awful days. I’m in my midthirties now, and my life is even more complicated and busy, with more and more responsibilities. But I also happen to be more carefree than I was even in my early twenties, before I became a mom. I also feel stronger than ever, more self-assured and more resilient. Does this sound like a contradiction? Let me explain. I guess you can say that I finally feel at peace with myself, ready and willing to take on new challenges, looking forward to the years ahead with fearlessness, confidence, creativity, and lots of humor, not shy or afraid of any upsets that are bound to happen in my lifetime. And I just feel more confident that now I can share some insight, and even if it resonates with only one person, I will have contributed in a positive way.

Another reason I decided to write this book was out of frustration. I’m often asked how I stay in shape. How I lost all that baby weight after my first son, Ryder, was born. How I seem to effortlessly lose ten pounds in preparation for a new film role. How I look and seem so healthy. The responses captured and then reported by the media are typically just sound bites—I love to jump rope.I’m into yoga.I do Pilates.I’m vegan.I work out twenty minutes a day.I work out two and a half hours a day.

It’s not that these sound bites aren’t true—some are, some are not—but they just don’t tell the whole story. And though I understand that nowadays we have become accustomed to getting our information immediately, in bite-size snippets or tweets, learning how to really take care of yourself doesn’t happen immediately at all. In other words, if you want to make lifestyle changes, it doesn’t happen with a Like on Instagram! It takes time and discipline.

My frustration comes from the fact that learning to take care of yourself will never be captured in a sound bite, just as how I live my life could never be captured in a four-minute interview. So since I really want to spread the word about some of the lessons I’ve learned and the things I’ve found that make me feel great, and I can’t sit down for a long conversation with you over hot tea, I decided to put my ideas about how to be body smart in this book.

One of the main ideas I came to is that being body smart is an ongoing process, not a diet or a program that begins one day and ends twenty-one days later. Just like yours are, my body and mind are always changing, which means that taking care of myself requires that I tune in regularly, ready to make small adjustments to fit the changes. This idea of constant change was a huge revelation for me! I used to think I could just figure out the best diet for me, that I’d lose weight, stick to that weight, and never have to worry again. But life doesn’t work that way—nor does true self-care. I want this book to be a map for you to figure out how to take good care of yourself—mind and body. I didn’t just wake up one day understanding how to take care of myself. I had to learn how to do so over time, and I continue to learn—each and every day. Again, this is a process because my body is constantly changing—so is yours. And when I learned how to accept that it will always be like this, I relaxed. Our bodies do not stand still for time.

Another important lesson I learned, and one that I want you to learn, is that perfection is for amateurs. No, seriously. When you understand yourself and connect to how you can become body smart, you realize pretty quickly that the perfect, the ideal, is not the goal. Instead, the goal is feeling good in your body. That’s what leads to confidence, to feeling and looking fit, and being pretty happy. Doesn’t that sound great? I think so!

You may assume from all the photos and video clips out there that I was born thin, with a sleek, toned body. Ahh—not the case. Like every woman, I work at it and continue to work at it. I’ve lost weight, gained it right back, and lost it again. I’ve been thin but not toned, skinny but not strong, and none of the above.

Another realization I’ve had since Bing, my second son, was born and I launched Fabletics, my workout clothing line, is that I have to take care of myself in a more complete way. I’d use the word holistic if it hadn’t already been beaten to death. I’d use the word balanced if that word, too, hadn’t almost lost its meaning. The word that seems most relatable, real, and true is connected. I finally feel truly connected within myself—my mind and body, with a little soul thrown in for good measure. Being connected and aware has kept me grounded in my life even though I am always on the move. I feel focused and clearheaded despite continuing to enjoy jumping from one project to the next, one self-help book to another and then back to poetry. I am busy, but I don’t feel frenetic. I feel energized yet peaceful. And on the physical side, to find myself in this place after years feels like a triumph. It wasn’t until I connected the dots—how I eat, what makes me happy when I exercise, and what I truly need—that my life and my body calmed down.

So it’s this place of connection that has inspired me to write this book.

People keep asking me if I have a secret—a secret diet, a secret formula for losing weight, a secret exercise routine that makes me toned, strong, and feeling sexy. Photographs of me or any other celebrity may inspire you, but they won’t get you off the couch. That’s up to you. Instead, what I want for you is what I discovered for myself: that taking care of yourself is the single most important connection you can make in your life. When you feel calm and in sync with yourself, when you feel sated and neither hungry nor full, when you feel energized by whatever form of exercise puts a smile on your face—that’s when you know you’ve hit the jackpot.

I came to this understanding through trial and error, by constantly changing things up, observing what works for people close to me, including my parents, and doing my own research. Ever since I decided to launch Fabletics and really spread the word about our mission to live fit and achieve your passions in life, I have been diving into positive psychology, exercise physiology, cutting-edge nutritional science, and brain research that shows how certain foods affect our bodies by setting off dangerous, unhealthy habits, and how physical activity interacts with the brain. My mom, Goldie Hawn, has been working closely with neuroscientists and positive psychologists for some time in her work with MindUP, an important curriculum to help kids de-stress and manage their emotions so they can learn more effectively in school. My mom’s work deepened my own curiosity about mindfulness—as a mom myself and as a woman. I did a lot of research, including learning about the benefits of an alkaline diet (as opposed to a diet that is highly acidic), and reached out to a number of mind-body practitioners and experts in the areas of Ayurvedic medicine (an ancient Indian approach to the integration of holistic mind and body health) so that I could create a simple, easy-to-use primer on weight loss, mind-body connection, and fitness to use in my own life. Now you can tailor it for your life, using Pretty Happy.

As women, we know it’s the details that make the difference. We don’t want basic information that seems geared toward the masses, but rather much more personalized, nuanced instruction that helps us understand something new from the inside. We want to internalize what we learn so that it makes sense to us on a personal level. That’s how this book will work. First, I’m going to share my Drawing Board so you can create your own.

Think of the Drawing Board conceptually—a place to write down all your thoughts, feelings, questions, and fears about your body, but also about your life. That’s what I do. It’s a kind of living document that keeps me in touch with me. Sometimes my Drawing Board is my journal. Sometimes I do a huge collage board. But really you can use anything you like—a legal pad, a diary, the Notes application in your smartphone. If I feel anxious or stuck, I return to my Drawing Board. If I am elated and joyful, I record it on my Drawing Board. After a run, a meditation, or a particularly difficult day, I go to my Drawing Board and put down my thoughts, my feelings, and the patterns that I see emerging. My Drawing Board is an ever-changing, real-time document of me and where I am in my life so that I always stay connected with myself and those I love. My Drawing Board helps me trust myself.

I will show you how you can create your own Drawing Board and use it to create an intuitive relationship with yourself, one that I think will lead to your own inner balance, sense of connectedness, and inner groundedness. There is no one way to find yourself, but I hope you will discover yours.

Of course, I will share how I eat and stay active, but that is not so you can follow suit exactly. This book is meant to help you find the things you like and decide what works for you. Perhaps you will be inspired; perhaps what you enjoy and what you need will become clearer. I am going to give you reliable information that you can use to make good decisions—ones that work for you.

And although I’ll give you some reliable, science-backed strategies for reducing body fat and losing pounds, I’m not giving you a program that makes you look like me.

I promise I am not going to overwhelm you with biology and chemistry. I am not going to give you tons of nutritional advice that will make you want to scream. I just want you to know that I’ve done my homework, culled the most important and valuable takeaways from all my research, and presented it here as easy-to-follow tips, tools, and strategies.

Like anything, learning something truly meaningful takes time and effort. I try to remind myself of that every day I wake up and don’t want to work out, don’t want to move, don’t want to eat clean and well. And I think this is a feeling many of you might relate to—knowing that being happy and finding pleasure and contentment takes discipline.

Just as building Fabletics is the symbol of my internal dialogue about not just reaching for surface results but showing myself that I can dig deeper, I want this book to offer you some ideas for how you can go to that deeper, more real place with yourself. I hope you can find the kind of strength and resilience that I’ve found in the face of a busy, full life. I hope you can find a sense of connectedness outside yourself, knowing that the more peaceful you are within, the more peaceful you will be in your relationships with others. I’m hoping that you find something inside of yourself—in this book—even if it’s one thing to aspire to, one goal in your everyday life. And know that I am deeply respectful of you and wherever you are in your life right now. Believe me, I know making lifestyle changes isn’t easy, but we’ve all got to start somewhere. So let’s make a pact that we will try to enjoy the process!

So, this book is an invitation from me to you. Why settle for mediocre and frenetic when you can feel simply awesome?! Don’t you want to feel grounded in your life and in your body? To feel happy to wake up in the morning and tackle your to-do list or look forward to a day of enjoyment? Don’t you want to feel so good in your body that you can skip the mirror and the scale once in a while? That on the days you don’t feel great or don’t have the tools, you can trust that you can go to your Drawing Board and get back to that right place for you? That’s what being body smart is all about.

When you connect with your breath, and nurture a positive, intuitive relationship with yourself and your body, you will begin to settle and